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| Kerry seeks "martyrdom" in a Catholic church |
| 2004-03-31 |
| "The Prowler" at American Spectator. Hat tip: Amy Welborn As if his last "media op" in a church wasn’t offensive enough . . . Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry and his campaign staff have done everything to portray him as a solid, mainstream Roman Catholic, claiming that he demands that his staff make time for his attendance to Sunday services and that he is a weekly communicant. That image of a practicing Irish Catholic is what Kerry has been putting forward, harking to the time of John F. Kennedy, when Catholics across the country voted to put one of their own in the White House. "Catholics are definitely a constituency we are courting," says a Kerry adviser in Washington. "Here we have a practicing Catholic, who is in line with the majority of American practicing Catholics. Rome may not be thrilled with the Senator’s position on some of the social issues, but the pope doesn’t have a vote in this election. But there are probably millions of pro-choice Catholics who do, and Kerry is their man." The Kerry campaign was said to be surprised at the coverage their candidate received for attending Mass while on vacation in Idaho. "You saw conservatives all up in arms that he was receiving communion, when most American Catholics do the same thing and live a life very similar to the senator’s: divorced, pro-choice, etcetera," says the Kerry adviser. "It just highlights how out of touch the right wing is with America, and we can play to that." To that end, according to other sources inside the Kerry camp, aides are attempting to identify a Catholic diocese, and perhaps even a specific priest and church, where Kerry could attend a Mass with reporters present, and be turned away at the altar attempting to receive communion. Under Roman Catholic doctrine, a priest can withhold communion from someone who is known to be either in a serious state of sin, or who should otherwise be disqualified from receiving the sacrament. It is a rule that is almost never invoked, and almost certainly has never been used as a political ploy, either by the church or a politician seeking some kind of photo opportunity. In the past calls have been made to excommunicate liberal politicians not in agreement with the Church’s teachings on abortion, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, for example, or more recently, Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota. But neither man was officially sanctioned by his respective bishop. Kerry’s situation should be no different. But Kerry and his staff are apparently willing to use the Catholic Church as a political wedge, and hope that some politically conservative priest will be willing to take the bait. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #13 Nine more Americans died today because of Jewsih lies about WMD while Mr. Pruitt censors the truth. PLEASE NOTE: Delete spaces in censored URL below. http://AD LU SA.com |
| Posted by: Joe TROLL 2004-03-31 3:04:55 PM |
| #12 check out this article at Newsmax. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/3/31/170532.shtml Evidently there are some Catholics upset at his stances against the tenets of the church. |
| Posted by: AF Lady 2004-03-31 9:19:05 PM |
| #11 Old Spook-- Technically in the eyes of the church, his first marriage was annulled. It's pretty damn easy to have that done in America....most of the annulments the church gives are here in the States. You damn near have to be holding a Satanic rite in the parking lot before the church will throw you out nowadays (look at all the pedophile priests who are still in the church and haven't been defrocked). And even then....I don't know if that will do it. And before anyone goes nuts about that comment.....I'm Catholic. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2004-03-31 7:37:46 PM |
| #10 Kerry a "practicing" Catholic? Gimme a break. He can hardly be in good standing with the church given his activities, divorces, public opposition and working counter to the Chruch's doctrine, etc. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-03-31 7:23:12 PM |
| #9 [Troll droppings deleted] |
| Posted by: Franklin TROLL 2004-03-31 3:04:55 PM |
| #8 guess this will be his "Sister Souljah" photo-op? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-03-31 2:44:55 PM |
| #7 I'm Catholic, I don't condone abortion but feel that the option to have an abortion needs to remain as is. The real point is, any Catholic who votes for Kerry solely based on him being a supposed Catholic is a moron. Using religion for votes is lame. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-03-31 2:23:30 PM |
| #6 HMMMmmmm. So Skeery wants to play martyr? Wonder if he's considered converting to Islam? They're always looking for good martyrs. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-03-31 2:06:21 PM |
| #5 and isn't he divorced..yea i know its a non-issue but he is trying to come across as devoted catholic. He's divorced, but Widow Heinz made him seek an annulment before he married her. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-03-31 12:58:05 PM |
| #4 claiming that he demands that his staff make time for his attendance to Sunday services unless they are all volunters he is breaking federal laws by requiring his staff to attend services. and isn't he divorced..yea i know its a non-issue but he is trying to come across as devoted catholic. |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-03-31 12:35:00 PM |
| #3 Another fine Democrat tradition -- Catholic bashing. Yes, I know Kerry's claims to be a Catholic; that doesn't matter. Going against the Church's teachings and attempting to use them as a political weapon against the Church is Catholic-bashing as far as I'm concerned. If Kerry does this -- and it's unlikely he'll find someone dumb enough to go along with him -- do you think he'll be given as much heat for "stirring up anti-Catholic sentiment" as Gibson was for supposedly stirring up antisemitism? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-03-31 12:27:12 PM |
| #2 I thought this was ScrappleFace when first I saw the title. |
| Posted by: Steve from Relto 2004-03-31 11:54:02 AM |
| #1 Doesn't matter. He's a traitor. |
| Posted by: Bill Nelson 2004-03-31 11:53:45 AM |